Jurors can discuss details of cases while seeking trauma support, Sask. lawyers believe long overdue

By Jaryn Vecchio

Jurors can now discuss all aspects of cases they’ve sat on while getting mental health support.

The federal bill S-206 was officially passed last year but came into effect on Monday. It ultimately amended the Criminal Code to allow jurors to share information during professional medical or psychiatric treatment, therapy, and counselling.

Brian Pfefferle, a criminal lawyer based in Saskatoon, told paNOW he believes this is long overdue.

“They’re not volunteers, they’re voluntold to appear in court and deal with matters that are extremely traumatic (and) sometimes extremely emotional,” he said. “They’re saddled with extremely difficult tasks of determining someone’s guilt or innocence.”

Previously, jurors could seek support, but they weren’t allowed to share anything discussed by the jury while they were out of the courtroom. This included final deliberations.

Lisa Watson, a lawyer with the firm Peszko & Watson, couldn’t help but agree with Pfefferle.

“Any support we can offer people to help them deal with their trauma or process their feeling is very beneficial,” Watson said.

Discussions around jurors’ mental health are not a new topic. This specific bill was first heard in the Senate in November of 2021, moving over to the House of Commons in December of 2021. There were also previous attempts to update the Criminal Code, but they were unsuccessful.

Watson can’t say why it’s taken this long for something like this to be passed, but she does believe the stigma around mental health may have played a part.

“As time has gone on, we have learned more about the importance of mental health and the effects of trauma,” Watson said.

Meanwhile, Pfefferle and Watson both don’t want to see conversations around juror support end anytime soon.

They both think the next thing that needs to be updated is just how much jurors are compensated financially for their time.

“Are we adequately supporting our jurors financially? Particularly, single parents and disproportionately racialized people that are being forced to leave their family duties and pay for child care with the very modest amount of money that’s given,” said Pfefferle.

In Saskatchewan, jurors are paid $110 for each day or part of a day that they work. If someone is getting paid by their employer while working a case, then they aren’t paid.

Parking, mileage, meals and dependent care may also be eligible for reimbursement, but it’s not 100 per cent guaranteed.